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Commission Investigating 9/11 Attacks Uncovers Some Big Blunders
Aired January 27, 2004 - 06:27 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The commission investigating the 9/11 attacks has uncovered some big blunders that might have kept some of the hijackers out of this country. The report is not yet complete.
Our Paul Courson joins us live from Washington with more on this.
For one, it was revealed that fraudulent passports were overlooked.
PAUL COURSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, yesterday, we mentioned about how Mohamed Atta was supposedly within the discretion of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to have been granted another visit to the United States. He was in the United States. Mohamed Atta, by the way, to take you back a couple of years now, we need to review this, is considered the ringleader among the hijackers who were active on September 11.
Anyway, he was in the United States and left and then applied for a change of status to return to the United States. Well, at the testimony yesterday up on Capitol Hill, former INS official Richard Bonner said that he should not have been allowed back in the United States, that a change of status pending review such as that does not automatically grant any sort of flexibility and that he should not have been allowed back in the United States.
That was just part of the testimony yesterday up on Capitol Hill, as the 9/11 commission continues its work troubleshooting, documenting, finding out where the shortcomings in security were -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: It is not saying that it needs a two month extension.
How was that received?
COURSON: Well, the -- throughout all this, the deadline that they had facing them was that the idea of getting something on the books to have a timetable to work against. And as they continue to plod along and document the security holes that have been in the system that allowed the September 11 attacks to occur, yes, more time needs to happen. There is a person being held at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval base who is supposedly suspected of complicity in the 9/11 attacks. U.S. officials told us last week he hasn't been talking.
So until they can polish the interrogation techniques and possibly convince this fellow to talk to us, there might be more details coming to the 9/11 commission that they would like to review.
WHITFIELD: All right, Paul Courson from Washington, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Blunders>
Aired January 27, 2004 - 06:27 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The commission investigating the 9/11 attacks has uncovered some big blunders that might have kept some of the hijackers out of this country. The report is not yet complete.
Our Paul Courson joins us live from Washington with more on this.
For one, it was revealed that fraudulent passports were overlooked.
PAUL COURSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, yesterday, we mentioned about how Mohamed Atta was supposedly within the discretion of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to have been granted another visit to the United States. He was in the United States. Mohamed Atta, by the way, to take you back a couple of years now, we need to review this, is considered the ringleader among the hijackers who were active on September 11.
Anyway, he was in the United States and left and then applied for a change of status to return to the United States. Well, at the testimony yesterday up on Capitol Hill, former INS official Richard Bonner said that he should not have been allowed back in the United States, that a change of status pending review such as that does not automatically grant any sort of flexibility and that he should not have been allowed back in the United States.
That was just part of the testimony yesterday up on Capitol Hill, as the 9/11 commission continues its work troubleshooting, documenting, finding out where the shortcomings in security were -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: It is not saying that it needs a two month extension.
How was that received?
COURSON: Well, the -- throughout all this, the deadline that they had facing them was that the idea of getting something on the books to have a timetable to work against. And as they continue to plod along and document the security holes that have been in the system that allowed the September 11 attacks to occur, yes, more time needs to happen. There is a person being held at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval base who is supposedly suspected of complicity in the 9/11 attacks. U.S. officials told us last week he hasn't been talking.
So until they can polish the interrogation techniques and possibly convince this fellow to talk to us, there might be more details coming to the 9/11 commission that they would like to review.
WHITFIELD: All right, Paul Courson from Washington, thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Blunders>
